| Date | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mia Blakeney |
Box Office Round-up
Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting In Venice held on to the top spot with £1.5m, a drop of 33% from last weekend. That takes its total after 10 days in cinemas to £4.9m, and at the same stage of its run last year Death On The Nile was on £4.7m, so this third film is still tracking to top Death On The Nile’s £8m final total.
The fourth film in the action series The Expendables, Expend4bles opened in second with £761k. This is the first film in the series since 2014 and it would appear that there’s no nostalgic fondness for the series as it posted a series low opening weekend. The first Expendables finished its run with £10.6m, while the third finished with £3.9m. This fourth instalment looks like it will finish even lower.
The Nun II posted another solid hold in third, falling 38% from last weekend to £704k. That takes its total after 17 days in cinemas to £5.1m and in what’s been a strong year for horror, it’s another hit.
The Equalizer 3 also posted a strong hold in fourth, falling 39% to £537k, which takes its total to £7.3m. It has now overtaken the final total of the first film in the series (£6.9m) and over the next week will overtake the final total of the second film (£7.5m).
New entry, Dumb Money rounded out the top five, opening with £506k, which includes £43k from previews. As a comedic film about the financial markets, the obvious comparison is The Big Short which opened with £1.3m in January 2016, however that film had a more heavyweight cast and Oscar buzz behind it. Hopefully Dumb Money can hold up well over the coming weeks.
Outside of the top five, Barbie added £295k in sixth, which was enough to take it over the £95m mark. It’s now less than £200k behind SPECTRE (£95.2m), the fifth biggest film of all-time in the UK & Ireland.
Next Weekend
The Creator is a new original sci-fi film from Gareth Edwards (Rogue One, Godzilla). Against the backdrop of a war between humans and robots with artificial intelligence, a former soldier (John David Washington) finds the secret weapon, a robot in the form of a young child. It’s in cinemas from Thursday.
Saw X is the return of the popular horror series. A sick and desperate John travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable.
The Old Oak is the latest film from British film-making legend Ken Loach. A pub landlord in a previously thriving mining community struggles to hold onto his pub. Meanwhile, tensions rise in the town when Syrian refugees are placed in the empty houses in the community.
The Exorcist (50th Anniversary) is the re-release of one of the most famous, and best, horror films of all-time. When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.
The Buzz
The Bikeriders is the new film from Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter, Loving). It follows the rise of a Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members and the all-star cast includes Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Michael Shannon and Mike Faist. It had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival a couple of weeks ago and has been warmly received by the critics. Tomris Laffly for The Wrap wrote ‘some films merely offer you a clockwork plot. Others, like Jeff Nichols’ smokin’ cool The Bikeriders, whisk you away with a roar of mood and atmosphere.’ Peter Debruge in Variety was also taken with it saying ‘it goes a long way to humanize figures who’ve been long misrepresented on film, while giving audiences privileged access to this inner world.’ The Hollywood Reporter praised the cast saying ‘what resonates beyond the brawls and blood is a profound affection for the people onscreen — those grace notes provided by a fine cast, with Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy stirring undercurrents that are particularly affecting precisely because they’re never explicitly examined or explained.’ It’s great for an upmarket male audience when it hits cinemas on 1 December and may prove a hit with awards voters in Q1.
Across The Pond
The Nun II went back up to the top spot on its third weekend, adding $8.4m, which takes its total to $69.2m. Expend4bles opened in second with a disappointing $8.3m, comfortably the lowest opening in the series. A Haunting In Venice fell to third, adding $6.3m for a new total of $25.4m. The Equalizer 3 added $4.7m in fourth, which takes its total to $81.3m. Barbie rounds out the top five, adding $3.2m for a new total of $630.5m.